LAKELAND – Lakeland Regional Health will pay the city $215 million by October to fulfill the hospital s lease through 2040, after which it will pay $10 a year going forward.
Lakeland commissioners voted 6-1 to accept a prepayment of the hospital s lease on Monday afternoon. It will free the nonprofit health care provider from its annual lease payment to the city, which is currently more than $14 million per year.
We are clearly in uncertain times, overall and certainly in the health care environment, Lakeland Regional Health President and CEO Danielle Drummond said. Our objective is to bring about as much certainty for the hospital as well as the city given the number of uncertainties.
LAKELAND – It would cost Lakeland approximately $9 million to equip 200 of the city s police officers with body cameras and in-vehicle cameras for the next 10 years, according to police department.
Lakeland Police Chief Ruben Garcia presented three options for equipping the city s officers with video, either body cameras or on vehicle dashboards, to city commissioners on Monday morning. It s the city s first discussion on possibly implementing body cameras since the topic came up in public forums amid last year s national protests after the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minnesota. There s a perception that body-worn cameras is a useful tool and there are some arenas within this profession they could be useful, Garcia said. Recent research . says your biggest value is deploying these in a troubled agency.
LAKELAND Lakeland officials will consider whether to accept a $215 million payment from Lakeland Regional Health to end its current hospital lease. Doing so, will have a radical impact on the city s finances.
City commissioners are scheduled to vote Monday on whether to accept a deal in which Lakeland Regional Health would prepay $215 million to fulfill all remaining hospital lease payments through September 2040. Afterward, the hospital would pay the city $10 per year going forward. I m not alone in thinking the hospital lease is one of the most challenging issues to resolve in the coming years, Commissioner Chad McLeod said. This is a win for both sides that brings certainty into the situation.